Seed Stratification

Seed stratification is not necessary with most seeds. However, there are some seeds that must be cold prior to planting or they will not germinate. What is it? Let's find out this week.

Seed Stratification - 2/5-2/11/2024

Monday, February 5, 2024

Here I am being windblown on the new property. It is cold and very windy. Seems the wind did not read the forecast that it should have stopped last night at 6pm.

Good Monday morning! It is still breezy and chilly at 52° right now. The sun is shining and it is time to pull a lot of seed orders and mail them out to you. Thank you to everyone who has been ordering seeds all weekend! We will definitely be busy today! This week we will talk about stratifying seeds. What is it? Is it necessary? You will find out below.

I made a German pancake for breakfast and the whole house smells good right now. It was quite delicious. If you would like to make one for your family, here is my German pancake recipe. And if you want to see me make one, Matt took a video of me teaching him how to make one and then he put it up on YouTube. I was not prepared for that but it is there anyway.

Enjoy!

Well, it was a very busy day. We had several customers who came by. Most of the day, I was closing and/or pulling seed orders. A friend of mine came by this afternoon to help us. David put her to work stuffing envelopes. She left around 4:30pm. Right after she left, they started showing our commercial on MeTV again. Earlier in the day, David got an email from KSAT saying that our account manager for the commercial was changed back to the manager we had two years ago. We were glad to hear that. She sent us a schedule of commercial times. However, the schedule does not give exact times, just what hours the commercial will be shown and how many times each hour.

So we never got an apology from the other manager or an explanation as to why she did not let us know there was a problem with the format after telling us it was good to go. She probably doesn't need to be dealing with the public. After the way she treated us last week, I was ready to say let's try a different channel instead. I mean this commercial is not cheap to run so we should know what is going on with it instead of looking for days for it and never seeing it. When you are spending thousands of dollars per month on an ad and then you have no idea why it is not running, it is not a good feeling.

The more orders I closed, the more orders that came in. I could not catch up. David left at 5:15pm for a business meeting. The others left around 6pm or so and I continued to at least pull the rest of the orders. So now I have a lot to close tomorrow. Once I finished pulling, I sat down at the computer and found a bunch more orders that came in during the day. I printed those up so they are ready to be pulled. I finally went in the house to make dinner at 7pm.

David came back from the meeting in Somerset after 9pm. Tomorrow night, we have our business meeting at Farm to Familia. All business owners in the tri-county area are invited. It starts at 6pm. It is all about small businesses supporting other small businesses.

The sun is going down and the David's Garden Seeds® gate and sign look so cool.

Seed Stratification

Some seeds need to be cold stratified but most are just fine to plant without it.

What is seed stratification? It is the process of pre-treating the seeds so they will germinate easier. We have to mimic what nature does to seeds if they stayed outside during the fall and winter instead of sitting in a seed packet waiting to be purchased and planted.

There are two types of seed stratification. They are dry or cold stratification and moist stratification. Both seeds are stored in the refrigerator during the stratification time.

You hear the most about cold (dry) stratification, the process of making the seeds cold for a while so they will think they have been out in the cold ground outside under layers of snow. The best way to accomplish this is to put some seeds in a ziplock bag to keep them dry. Store them in the refrigerator for at least 30 days all the way up to 120 days depending on the seed variety. Wildflowers need to be cold stratified in order to come up in early spring.

Here in Texas, we plant our spring wildflowers in October so they can be cold stratified outdoors in the ground. You can also put seeds in a safe container that is tightly sealed and store them in a garage or a storage shed during the winter months. Make sure animals cannot break in and eat the seeds. Then they can be planted in early spring in the ground.

Moist stratification can be achieved indoors by mixing seeds with some moist sawdust or sand and placing the mixture in a ziplock bag. The mix should be just moist, not dripping wet. Store the bag in the refrigerator, not the freezer. It should be kept between 34° and 38° Fahrenheit. Make sure it does not freeze. They should be kept there for as little as ten days up to three months. After that, plant in trays or in the ground and be sure to water for the next one to two months or so.

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

Another beautiful sunrise!

Good morning. I cannot believe it is time to start another work day. First thing, I checked and printed out the new orders that came in overnight. I am wondering if I will ever catch up. Usually, on Monday nights I get all caught up and start fresh on Tuesday but this weekend, more large orders came in so I will be busy today for sure.

Our teen helpers will not be coming in today as they have a field trip instead. My friend said she would come by for a few hours this morning so that will be helpful but she won't be closing orders.

Michelle was here cleaning and shampooing the carpets again. We had a few customers and sold some more tomato plants, snake plants, and aloe vera plants. If you need some plants for your home, we have plenty of aloe and snake plants. They make nice gifts, too.

A wheelbarrow filled with rabbit manure is going into the garden beds.

Prepping the beds for the spring garden is hard work and we just don't have time so we have to pay for help.

I spent the day filling seed orders. My friend stopped by for a little while to stuff. Nacho was here with his son filling garden beds with manure, compost, and more dirt, getting them all ready to plant.

At 5pm, we left the farm for the small business meeting. A lot of the attendees were not there because they were out of town or busy elsewhere but there was a good small crowd. We provided pizza and soft drinks. We shut it down at 7pm and locked up.

On the way back home, we passed what looked like a burning structure on the left hand side of the road. It was a huge fire that looked like a two story house a few acres back from 476. Lots of cars were going by but David pulled over and called 911. They said no one had called it in and then they started asking all sorts of questions.

"Is anyone there?"
"Are there cars in the driveway?"
"What is the address?"
"What are the crossroads?"

As they asked question after question, the house was pretty much gone. If we ever have a fire out here, we are screwed.

Now, keep in mind that it is pitch black which is why we can see the fire so well from so far away. There are zero street lights. We were nowhere near that house and we did not know how to get to it from where we are. We do not go down that road often, maybe once a month because we just don't go into Poteet much. My point is that we could not see a thing other than the bright fire. Meanwhile, cars were just zooming by but no one else even bothered to call this massive fire in.

I believe the person taking the call did not have a clue how it is out here in the country in the dark.

A sheriff vehicle showed up and they finally allowed us to go home. They kept us there while they pinged our location. After we got home, David texted one of the local firefighters. Turns out it was a controlled AG burn and they never reported it so there was no firetruck standing by. So we went through all of that for nothing.

Seed Stratification

Not all seeds require cold stratification. You can always Google to see if the seeds you want to plant require it.

The following seeds require cold stratification:

Asclepias
Butterfly Bush
Catmint
Chinese Lantern
Coneflower
Hen And Chicks Poppy
Hibiscus
Hollyhock
Hyssop
Larkspur
Lavender
Lupine
Milkweed
Mountain Mint
Primrose
Rudbeckia
Scabiosa
Shiso
Soapwort
St. John's Wort
Sunflowers
Sweet Pea
Verbena
Viola

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

At 7am, the big oak tree was visible through the fog.

Today is my mother's birthday. Happy birthday, Mom.

It is foggy and 48° Fahrenheit. I have a lot of orders to pull and fill and I am hoping to finally get caught up from the weekend orders. I would have caught up last night but we had that meeting. I wish I had stayed home and finished the orders.

At 8am, the big oak tree was no longer visible. The fog is so thick now.

Now it is 8am and I cannot see the big oak tree at all. The fog has really moved in. Everyone is here, safe and sound which was a big concern for me. That fog is dense now.

During that last thunderstorm with hail that we had about two weeks ago, our Trimlights went out again. So far, the Trimlight people have not come by to replace the part to make them work again. Every time we have a good thunderstorm, the lights die. They claim we are not doing something right. In fact, this last time, they said we should have unplugged them during the storm. If you remember, the hailstorm started at 1:05am. David asked them if they thought we should have run out across the property in the hail to unplug them. They said no but they are just tired of coming out here and replacing the part.

The last time they were here, I told them that obviously the plug they are using is not preventing them from going out but they said it was working. Really? The lights have a lifetime guarantee. They tell us no one else has this problem. I am thinking they just need to give us our money back and take them down. Honestly, they have been more trouble than they are worth. Each time they go out, it takes weeks to get them to come out and fix them.

It is now 10:15am. The fog has cleared but it is overcast. The air smells strongly of skunk so I think some are living under Production, even though the building is skirted. Someone has been doing some digging.

It is now 2:35pm and breezy, very breezy. David just told me that the Trimlight people are supposed to be here this afternoon. That would be nice. We shall see.

The Trimlight owner came out at 4:30pm and replaced the part once again. The lights are working but why does it only go out for us and not for any of their other customers? He just could not explain. This is the third time the part for the lights has had to be replaced.

The wind has really picked up again. Matt has gone on an errand for David and it is 5pm. I have been busy pulling orders all day long.

Many Texas businesses are using the following hashtags when posting:

#localbusiness #smallbusiness #supportlocal #supportsmallbusiness #shoplocal #local #handmade #supportlocalbusiness #shopsmall #business #smallbusinessowner #love #buylocal #familybusiness #entrepreneur #homedecor #art #instagood #womeninbusiness #businessowner #design #eatlocal #community #onlineshopping #homemade

I read that hashtags are a thing of the past. I have been using them but starting today, I will drop them, at least for a while.

We are in Texas and I agree with supporting local business and Texas businesses as much as we can. If we are located in Texas, why would support businesses located up North or far away like Michigan or Missouri when we have the same type of business right here in the great state of Texas?

Discount Code

Use discount code SPRING24 if you buy $45 or more worth of seeds at checkout for 10% off of your purchase. This is only good for seeds, not any of our garden supplies, eggs, coffees, caps, or snacks.

Seed Stratification

I have read that it is important not to add paper towels to the ziplock bags as they can cause the seeds to go moldy during seed stratification. We have never stratified with paper towels. Some people recommend spraying the seeds with bleach before stratification to prevent mold but we do not believe that is necessary.

Just don't use paper towels and you will be okay. It is best to avoid harmful chemicals when you are gardening. Remember, one of the reasons you grow your own food is to control what is put on your food and bleach is one of those things that does not belong on seeds that you will be growing to eat.

Thursday, February 8, 2024

Hello and Happy Thursday! It has been a busy day. I got up early and started working. The first Instagram I saw was a video on growing your Instagram channel. I watched it and wondered where I had failed. We have been in business over 14 years and we don't even have 2,000 followers yet. Apparently, I do not post enough.

So I went to the Farm Store and made three or four posts today in between filling orders and taking care of customers.

It is a beautiful but cloudy day. It is already 4pm and I have a headache. I went in the house to take some Tylenol and discovered that I had not taken my morning blood pressure pills. That is probably why I now have a headache.

I put our commercial up on Facebook and on Instagram today.

Seed Stratification

To prevent fungal growth to the seeds during moist seed stratification, a fungicide can be used. We prefer to use cold, dry stratification instead of moist stratification so we do not use a fungicide. If you do use one, make sure it is an organic.

Friday, February 9, 2024

Things were slightly foggy again this morning.

Good Friday morning. It is a bit foggy outside and warm at 65°. When I got up at 6am, it was dark. I put my slippers on and walked into my office in the dark, going across the room until I turned on the lamp which is located by the window. Once the light came on, I looked all around the room. It was like a mine field with diarrhea piles all over, plus I had stepped in it in the dark. Talk about some fun times! Apparently, poor Ethel, who sleeps in my office, got sick in the night and did bad things all over the carpet which was just cleaned on Tuesday by the housekeeper. It was truly horrible!

I got the carpet cleaner and it took forever to get it all cleaned up. Now it is almost time to open the store and I am not even ready for the day yet.

Our brand new commercial has now been added to the bottom of this page so you can watch it.

It was a busy day filled with orders and customers. One customer asked if David had plants other than tomatoes that are ready. David took her back to the greenhouse. She came back with nine good looking plants, none of which were tomatoes. She had some lettuces and three strawberry plants. Be sure to come by tomorrow from 10am until 2pm for plants, seeds, coffee, and eggs. Remember on the eggs if you buy one for $5, you get the second one for $1 because we have so many!

Matt left the farm to go get Asian food for dinner so he missed the last two customers, both of whom left after the gates closed. I went in the house at almost 6pm and ran out back to collect eggs and deal with the animals.

After that, Matt finally got back with the food.

We finished off the day with a mukbang of Asian foods for tomorrow's Chinese New Year!

Here is the mukbang of Asian foods Matt got in Pleasanton tonight for us to enjoy. It was delicious. I love lemon chicken.

New Discount Codes

Our newsletter went out this morning with a brand new discount code good for 15% off of our seeds when you spend a minimum of $45. This is for subscribers only.

Our regular spring sale now is 10% off of seeds only when you spend $45 or more by using code SPRING24 at checkout.

Farm Fresh Eggs Sale

They're everywhere! Eggs...so many. What on earth are my chickens thinking?

I am currently being overrun by our eggs! So until this is over, you can buy one dozen of our beautiful, farm fresh eggs for $5 or get two dozen eggs for $6.00! That is right. Buy one for $5 and get the second carton of eggs for just $1 more. Thank you for your support!

Seed Stratification

Some seeds, require warm stratification followed by cold stratification. Other seeds require warm stratification first. This can be accomplished by soaking the seeds in hot water for a certain amount of time. Then if they need cold, they can be ziplocked and put in the refrigerator.

Some seeds just require warm stratification. Always read your seed packets or Google.

Seed scarification can help before you stratify your seeds.

Saturday, February 10, 2024

Happy Chinese New Year!

Today is the Chinese Lunar New Year. It is the Year of the Dragon. Happy New Year! We celebrated last night with a buffet of Asian food. It was very good but they forgot to give us our egg rolls.

Good morning. It is chilly out and a bit foggy. It is sprinkling and is supposed to rain all day long. It is 66° right now and I have to go out and feed the animals.

I was loading eggs into the cartons to take to the store when David said that customers were here. The gate opened way too early and it was 9:40am. I still had 20 minutes until the store opened but I had to stop what I was doing and go take care of them. On Saturdays, we open at 10am, not 8am or 9am but it does not seem to matter. If the gate is open, they want service. Some have even come to the store at 8am during the week. Then the store opens at 9am. We have so much trouble trying to program that gate. We need a digital automatic gate opener.

So we had a lot of customers. Many of them bought our plants. David made a lot of trips out that way. We had no help today.

This evening, I made a roast in the Instant Pot and we watched a good movie, The Monster That Challenged The World, made in 1957. The monster looked like a giant ant under water. It was quite disgusting. They did a good job.

We also tried some Gatsby chocolate bars with low sugar. We had never had them before but we saw them on Shark Tank last night. They were actually very tasty. We will save the rest of them for the Superbowl tomorrow.

Seed Stratification

The whole purpose of seed stratification is to mimic what is done outside in nature when you have a packet of seeds. As said above, most seeds do just fine without being cold stratified but there are some, especially wildflowers and those listed above that have to go through cold or they just won't germinate.

Out in the cold, in their natural environment, the seeds drop off of the plant and hit the ground. Fall comes with cold wind and blows them around. They get wet with fall showers and land somewhere with the wetness weighing them down into the soil. Winter hits hard with ice and snow and the seeds freeze where they are. The ice and snow finally melt and it is spring. The seeds have gotten what they require in order to germinate and up they come, producing gorgeous flowers and leaves like they are supposed to. This is natural seed stratification which is why in Texas we plant all of our wildflowers in soil and water them in October.

Never just toss your wildflower seeds out where you want them to grow because they will be blown around, not to mention they will be food for birds and bugs. We always recommend planting them approximately 1/4 of an inch deep in October. Then water them one time.

Sunday, February 11, 2024

This morning, I went to the Farm Store and made an Instagram video about our pecan flavored coffees in both whole bean and ground!

Good Sunday morning. I got up and got the girls outside. It was warm and slightly foggy. Everything was wet so it rained but I did not hear any thunderstorms like we were supposed to get.

David made breakfast including bacon. It was the most tasteless, nasty bacon I have ever had. I asked him what brand it was. Turns out it was Yellowstone after the show. We have had their chili before and it was tasty. This was just awful. David did not like it either. There was no taste at all. No salt, no pork, no ham, no deliciousness whatsoever. Gross!

I fed the animals and then I colored my hair. I just have not been able to find the time so I squeezed it all in this morning. Then I got ready to go to church and off we went.

Afterward, David grilled rib eyes and I air fried some sweet potato slices. They were good. Now we need to tend to some orders because they are pouring in by the hundreds! David has printed out hundreds of Amazon orders this morning. I have printed out tons of website orders. We may end up watching the Superbowl while we fill orders today! Thank you all for ordering from us. We feel very blessed.

Now we are watching the Superbowl while we fill seed orders. It is very breezy and the sun is setting. We have hundreds of orders to fill.

Seed Stratification

In doing research for this page, I have discovered that there are some seeds that people cold stratify but they do fine without it. These include:

Broccoli plants grow just fine without the seeds being cold stratified.

Anise
Artichoke
Asparagus
Bergamot
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Catnip
Cauliflower
Chives
Cilantro
Common Sage
Eggplant
Goji Berries
Lemon Balm
Lettuce
Parsnips
Radishes
Spinach
Turnips

We grow all of the above without seed stratification, mainly because we did not know they needed it. (They don't.)

If you are having a hard time growing any of the above, try cold stratification in the fridge for at least 30 days. It may help with a particular variety of the seeds. Again, we have grown all of these without any type of cold stratification. Trust me, we have very few cold days here. Most of the time we are melting and these seeds grow just fine.

Return from Seed Stratification to Year Five On The Farm

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